Time Collapse: When Dimensionaries Meet
by Sleepwalker48
Summary: Time isn't working the way it should, and the Smashers find themselves warped into the SSBB Mansion sometime into the present. With no way of knowing how to get back to their own world, Ike is faced with new love, tough choices and intense complications, and its up to him to know who to trust. Humor/Romance/Fluff
1. Prince Charming

"And then, the prince proposed to the princess. The princess said yes, and the two lived happily ever after."

"Samus?" Are you and Captain Falcon going to live happily ever after?"

Samus stared down at Young Link, who looked up at her, smiling. Now the whole room erupted in questions.

"Are you Captain Falcy's pwincess?" Baby Peach, three years old, asked.

"Every princess needs a guy to make a prince," Young Zelda stated definitely.

"Well," Samus began, trying not to explode in fury or embarrassment, or both at the same time, "I'm not a princess, Zelda. So I don't _need _a prince."

"You don't need a prince," Kid Sonic said rudely, "but ya have ta _like _someone. So who do ya like?"

"Yeah, who do you like?" Ness asked.

"Yeah, who?" Lucas asked, chiming in.

"Umm…. I…." Samus faltered.

"_Do _you like anybody?" Young Zelda asked.

"Lunch time, guys!" Captain Falcon strode into the room full of kids. "Hey Nana; hey Popo," Captain Falcon went over among them and mussed up Popo's hair fondly. "What story have you guys been reading today?"

"I can't wemember the name, but it had a lovely pwince and and pwincess who got mawied at de end," baby Peach said.

The kids all looked at Samus, innocent and smiley, but Samus was beginning to get nervous.

"What in the universe was _that _about?" Captain Falcon asked Samus as they were in line to get food at the Cafeteria.

"I was reading them a fairy tale, and then they started asking me who I liked," Samus replied. She loved those kids to death, but sometimes they could get very personal without meaning to.

"And so you didn't answer?" Captain Falcon said, grabbing a carton of 1% milk.

"Not only did I not answer, I left them hanging. Now they're just going to keep bugging me about it all day…." She got a can of Root Beer and set it on her tray, as well as some napkins. "And now it's going to be bugging _me _all day too."

"Ah; so you don't like anybody?"

"I don't _know _if I like anyone!" Samus said, her voice getting all high pitched. Several Brawl members turned around to see what the noise was about. "I mean," She continued, bringing it an octave lower, "I've never been interested in guys. Ever."

"In your whole life?"

"Yeah," she replied. Samus led them both to one of the circular tables to the left of the Super Smash Brothers Mansion, overlooking the window. Zelda and Link sat at a table near a window, and when Falcon and Samus came to sit with the two, they were sitting quietly.

"You guys are always so quiet," Captain Falcon whispered to the couple. Link glared at him, while Zelda just smiled and continued eating.

"So anyway, they were thinking that I liked _you_, Samus said to Falcon.

"What? That's ridiculous!" Falcon exclaimed.

"Not really; I mean we do watch over the kids together a lot, and seeing us together so often must have given them that assumption."

"Who said this?" Zelda asked, incredulous.

"Just the kids we were looking after today," Samus replied, taking a bite of her pepperoni pizza.

"Oh, that's actually funny, because I just overheard Daisy and Peach a few tables away talking quite loudly about how _weird _you were for not liking someone here."

"They're just princesses; they don't matter to me," Samus grumbled. Zelda gave Samus a glare that could shoot daggers. "Err, except you, Princess."

"Hmph. That's what I thought." Zelda took another bite of some Hylian dish. "But just think about it… you, Peach, Daisy and I are the only grown women at this Mansion, and everyone but you has a boyfriend."

Samus got flustered. "That doesn't mean anything."

"Perhaps," Zelda said only, keeping her voice infuriating level, but Samus only got more and more confused by the minute.

"How _dare _she think that I looked like a woman!"

Ike snickered into his beverage. "Who was this?" he asked the blue haired prince.

"Dark Zelda," Marth grumbled.

Ike's eyebrow's rose into his jagged bangs. "Zelda has a dark side?"

"Apparently. I was with Link and Fox when Dark Zelda appeared out of nowhere and started firing questions and infuriating assumptions at everyone. And she called me a girl!"

Ike looked over to the prince. "Well maybe if you got rid of the tiara—"

"Shut up! It's a sign of Altean royalty and you know it!"

Ike merely smiled and picked at his chicken alfredo. The dish itself was new to him, as was many of the dishes they served at the Mansion's 'Cafeteria', but the sauce was tasty with the odd-shaped 'noodles', and there was chicken in it, so it suited him just fine.

"So do you want to train with me and any others who arrive at the Holodeck on floor 3?"

Without realizing it, Ike Greil found himself staring at the bold, blonde maiden that was sitting a few tables away.

"Ike? Hello?"

"What?" Ike looked up at him in surprise.

Marth smirked. "A young maiden catch your eye?"

Ike blinked. "No. What makes you say that?"

Marth rolled his eyes. "You were just _staring _at her."

"No I wasn't." Ike started stuffing chicken and noodles into his mouth nervously.

"Yes, you were." Marth sighed. "It's not like you have anybody back at home."

Ike swallowed. "As a warrior, it is my duty to—"

"—keep your mind on the task and not to let it stray, I know, I know." Marth inched closer to Ike in confidence. "But we don't have any missions now, hmm? No quests, no saving the kingdom, no heroics needed here. So why don't you just let your mind stray for a little bit?"

Ike looked down thoughtfully. "There is still Princess Elincia…"

"And she was uninterested, now wasn't she? Besides, you are probably only having second thoughts because you pledged your army's allegiance to her."

Ike sighed. "I guess…. for now we are 'off duty', as Snake would say."

"That's it! Now," Marth said, starting to rise, "Let's go meet her."

"Not yet!" Ike put a hand out to stop him, and Marth landed back with a scraping thud back in his plastic chair. Ike's eyes were wide. "Not yet."

"Oh, I see; too _scared _ at the moment, are we?" Ike scowled at him. "Okay, okay," Marth said, putting his hands out in front of him in surrender. "It's your call."


	2. Mutual Respect

_A/N- Ganon! Okay, so I know that's not the proper reaction when an evil villain pops up, but come on. He's awesome._

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Holodecks mentioned in this story, or even the 'arch'. They are owned by Gene Roddenberry, creator and producer of Star Trek: The Next Generation, from where I got the idea from._

Ike sat on the edge of his bed, his eyes closed in concentration. On his lap lay Aether, his gold, now shining, two-handed sword. Slowly and methodically he scraped his most prized possession with a jagged rock. For a few more minutes he sat there, moving the rock _skrrrrik, skrrrrik, skrrrrik _ along the weapon.

Then he opened his eyes and glanced over to the clock that hung on the other side of the room, above Marth's bed. The little 'hand' pointed almost directly to the four, and he stood up to sheath his long sword to his back. It was time.

It turned out that Brawl opened its doors to any player who was lost and couldn't find their way back to their own time and home. For many, this proved to be most difficult, because according to the space traveler Fox everyone there belonged to a different 'world'. It was hard for Ike to wrap his head around there being different, livable 'worlds', but a lot of things didn't make sense to him. The lights, for example. When Peach first flicked them on, Marth flinched visibly and Ike swung his sword at the florescent rectangles on the ceiling. Peach had scolded Ike into utter embarrassment while Mario and Luigi rushed into the room, declaring it needed to be shut down for the next week for repairs. In addition to being good plumbers, the brothers could also fix a broken pair of lights.

But no matter how uncomfortable it was being out of his time period, Ike knew the villains who dwelled in the mansion felt it ten times worse.

Waiting for him at the entrance to the Holodeck portal was Marth, Wolf, and another dark-skinned man who surpassed Ike's six-foot-three by inches. His intense yellow eyes glared at Ike as he approached, his crossed arms and wide stance demanding respect.

"Uh, Ike; meet Ganondorf. He's going to be training with us today," said Wolf. Wolf started pressing buttons on the keypad at the right of the portal doorway, instructing it to provide for them an appropriate setting for them to train at. If Ike wasn't eating or meandering the castle with Marth, they usually talked with Falco and Fox. The two would make snide comments about their sworn enemy, Wolf, if Fox wasn't going on and on about his estranged beloved, Krystal.

"Oh yeah; he may seem calm and unassumin' now," Falco had murmured to Ike one day at lunch, "but you shoulda seen him in Altar 3. Burned the whole capital city down."

"Or that time when he kidnapped Krystal from our own star base," grumbled Fox. "I still don't know how he did that…."

Over the following weeks, however, Ike made Wolf out to be the best contained villain at the mansion. He could personally say that Wario could stink up the whole cafeteria after a few bean-filled burritos with a couple of noxious farts, and Bowser was so big, fat and loud-mouthed that neither Ike nor Marth could stand him. He wasn't sure how Mario was able to stand him.

But this villain he had never seen before. The stone- faced man continued to glare at Ike. Ike calmly met his gaze.

Marth couldn't take this guy anymore. He had been glaring nastily at Ganondorf ever since he arrived.

"So," Marth began. "What world do _you _hail from?"

Ganondorf shifted his gaze to the prince, whose eyes grew wide. Marth stepped back once. "I am from the kingdom of Hyrule," Ganondorf grumbled. His voice was as deep as the foundations, and had as much power and potential of an earthquake.

"Ready to train?" Wolf grumbled. His voice was fairly deep also, but it didn't rumble with the same power as Ganondorf's.

"Yes," Ike and Marth said simultaneously. Ganondorf continued to stare at the prince.

"We train at the Bridge of Eldin today; a place familiar to our new member," Wolf said, pressing a white button that read 'ENTER'. The Holodeck's double doors slid open….

Ike found out at once that Ganondorf was a dark magic user. In addition to his strong punches and high kicks, the man would send off some purple and black smoke with it, making the force twice as powerful.

As well as being exceptionally brawny, the man possessed surprising flexibility for one his size. Many times when they had gone head to head, Ike took note of his spin-kicks, his mid-air somersaults, and his kicking cartwheels. Ike, whose ability ended when he was without his sword, was impressed.

An hour and a half later, the four were tired but satisfied. Marth had trained mostly with Wolf, whose quick jabs, crosses, and acrobatic style challenged the prince greatly, and Ike became accustomed to Ganondorf's moves. He proved to be a worthy opponent.

"You are no mere man, are you?" Ike asked Ganondorf as they exited the metallic portal that led them to the mansion once more.

Ganondorf at looked at him with curiosity. "I am a Gerudo. We are masters of theft and agility. I happen to be their leader."

"Yet you withhold some sort of power that goes beyond what you were born with."

"Indeed. I hold the Triforce of power." His tone became dark. "On occasion, my arch nemesis Link will try and seize it from me. I also am learned in the Dark mystic arts."

Ike wasn't sure what a Triforce was, but thought he could deal with this guy just fine. He turned to him.

"I hope we will be able to train more together in the future, Ganondorf."

Ganondorf gave Ike a begrudging smile. "You proved to be a worthy opponent, though aided with your sword."

"And you were aided by your magic and Triforce."

Ganondorf gave a laugh, short and deep, but happy. "Come," Ganon said, patting a heavy hand on Ike's back, shoving him forward. "Eat with me."

Splayed out on the heat-secure surface in the cafeteria were about fifteen, whole rotisserie chickens. Ganondorf took two and put them on his tray.

"Why do you only take one chicken, Ike?" Ganon inquired.

Ike shrugged. "I am trying not to eat as much. Besides, there is not that many left for the other brawlers."

"Ahh; most people here don't even eat meat. There is plenty." Ganon reached for a Dr. Pepper from the ice container.

"How do you know? You have only been here for a matter of days."

As Ganondorf gave his long, complicated answer, the two started walking towards an open seat. As Ike broke into his chicken, he saw Marth walk into the room, hair still wet from his recent shower. When Marth saw whom he was sitting with, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Ike disregarded him. Ganondorf may be evil, but he really wasn't a bad guy.

_A/N- Hehe, you notice how I got lazy a few times and typed out 'Ganon' instead of his full name?_


	3. Kids

The following day was Structured Practice. This was when a random selection of people from the brawl universe are given schedules and set places of where they were supposed to train with that day, and with whom. This is what Ike's schedule looked like:

9:00 am—Holodeck 5, Floor 3—Lucas, Samus, Nana&Popo

10:00 am—Holodeck 5, Floor 3—Lucas, Ness, Pokemon Trainer

11:00 am—Holodeck 2, Floor 2—Toon Link, Lucario, Snake

12:00 pm—Lunch Break

1:00 pm—Holodeck 3, Floor 5- Peach, Sonic, Pit

2:00 pm- Holodeck 3, Floor 6—Luigi, Ganondorf, Bowser

3:00 pm—Holodeck 3, Floor 6- Wario, Samus, Kirby

4:00 pm – Holodeck 4, Floor 6- Link, Mario, Falco

5:00 pm—Holodeck 1, Floor 6- Meta Knight, Captain Falcon, Pokemon Trainer

Ike glowered at his morning. He did _not _do well with kids. Stuffing the schedule in a bag that hung to his side, he trudged to a late breakfast.

XXX

9:00 am

The fighters got ready in their respective corners; Nana and Popo talked battle stratagems; Lucas kept saying things like "PK Fire!" and spouted various elements from his fingertips, and Samus was on the floor, stretching.

Ike walked into the Holodeck Simulation. It was made to look like a training dojo, with soft mats and hard walls, As Ike reached for his sword from the sheath attached to his back, he froze in place when he saw who lay stretching on the floor.

It was _her._

Ike stood there for several seconds, mouth agape, Fortunately, her back was to the mercenary, or else things would have gotten really awkward. Snapping out of it, Ike went to the other end of the room, and took out his schedule. There was Nana & Popo, the ice-climbers with their fuzzy coats; Lucas, the elementalist; and _Samus; _so that's what her name was.

Ike snuck another glance. Today she wore a purple and white one-piece suit that clung to her arms, legs, chest and torso. Her hair was tied up, her bangs falling in her face as she reached for her legs. Her eyes were closed in concentration or meditation; Ike wasn't sure which.

Suddenly a bell rang out from somewhere, like a school bell. The trainers started gathering at the center of the room. Ike blinked. He hadn't even gotten ready yet.

Before every Brawl match the fighters would meet and shake hands, wishing each other luck. Ike saw it as a chance to size up his opponents and measure their strength in his mind, giving nothing and everything away. He was here to train and to kick butt, dang it.

The mercenary stepped up to the center with long strides. Nana, Popo, and Lucas looked over at the over six foot tall figure, and shrank back.

"Tall man scary," Nana whimpered.

Ike stared down at the Ice Climbers, his face as impassive as ever. He held out a hand.

"Ahh!" Lucas and Popo ran over to cling to Samus' leg, and Nana started bawling right then and there.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Samus yelled at him, gathering crying Nana in her arms.

Ike's eyes widened in surprise. "I did nothing!"

"Stop trying to look so menacing!" Samus said. "You're scaring them."

"It's not like I'm trying to!"

Samus sighed. "Just… try for a smile, then."

Ike grinned.

Nana bawled even louder.

"What did I do?" he said with his arms out wide.

"Mm, this is going to be a problem," Samus said contemplatively.

_Like hell it is, _Ike thought. He had an idea. Slowly he knelt down on his knees, reducing his height to about half.

"Look," he said gently to Popo and Lucas, who were still holding onto Samus' legs. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm good. The safety is on, so no damage will come to you." He smiled slightly. "Besides," he said, looking up at Nana in Samus' arms, whose cries had been reduced to sniffles, "why would I want to harm such cute kids like you?"

Nana, Popo, and Lucas grinned bashfully.

With Samus' help, Ike got along with the three kids just fine. The whole training session ended being quite productive.

Samus' fighting style amazed him. With a running start, she could overwhelm one with her quick punches and lightning kicks.

On top of that, she wielded an electric whip that prevented the attacker from moving. All of that, and she obtained a gun that could paralyze you if you got within distance.

Ike flew into the wall for what seemed like the 100th time, all because of Samus' whip once again. The chimed again, signaling the end of the training for that time slot, leaving them with a 15 minute break. Samus hugged Lucas in congratulations, and patted the siblings on the head for their good work. Ike looked over to the Results screen at the end of the room, cursing his sore neck.

He had come in third, ahead of Nana & Popo and after Lucas. Samus held first.

"Need a little help, tough guy?" Ike turned. Samus stood in front of him, hands on her hips and her brown eyes alit with amusement.

"Please." Samus held out a hand, and Ike took it grudgingly. Her skin was hot just after working out.

Samus staggered back as the mercenary rose.

"Whoa," she said. "You're really tall." Ike shrugged and grabbed his sword. "But you must not be all that strong, seeing as you got third place."

"I was trying to go easy on them!"

"Riiiiiiiight," Samus said, but there was a mischievous light in her eyes.

Ike smiled. "I meant to ask you; What is the name of the suit you wear? I have never seen it before."

"This?" Samus said, looking down. "_This _is my Zero Suit. Later in the day you'll see me in my Power Suit." She sauntered off toward the Arch in the center of the room, hips swaying. "See you later, big fella."

Ike smiled to himself. _She likes me_, he thought.

XXX


	4. Toon Link

_A/N- I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this chapter! Ideas go in part to EpicFire123! I wouldn't have started this fiction if it weren't for her! And sorry; the chapters seem really short because they were transferred from my notebook._

_Oh dang! I forgot to say! The 'arch' you see here is _not_ my idea at all! The Holodeck, and the 'arch' idea goes to Star Trek: The Next Generation, and to Gene Bradbury, the producer and creator!_

10:00 am

He trained well that session, thanks to Samus' tips about kids. Ness liked him instantly, and Lucas was overjoyed to see him again. In the end, he landed in second, but only because Ness kept doing that move 'PK thunder' on him.

11:00 am

Ike jogged to the Holodeck on the second floor. Finally, one more training session until lunch.

He walked through the doorway onto the windy deck of the Halberd. In three separate sides on the outer deck stood a creature with glowing yellow eyes and pointed blue ears, doing meditations and chanting strange words under his breath; Snake, whom he'd already met, arms crossed and back turned away from the others, staring off into the distance, his head band flapping in the wind; and a small, toonish looking boy who wore a green tunic and was holding himself with a pouty look on his face.

Wait, was that….?

"Link?" Ike asked the small boy. The boy looked up at him with big eyes as he came over. Ike noticed that he barely surpassed his knee.

"I'm Toon Link, sir," Toon Link said, voice trembling slightly.

"Hey, hey, little guy, you don't have to be afraid of me." Ike squatted down so that he was almost the cartoon's height. He was getting the hang of this.

Toon Link shook his head so fast that Ike was surprised that his brains didn't rattle. "It's not you. I'm scared of him." He pointed to Snake.

Ike nodded in understanding. He knew how intense Snake's fighting style could be. "Oh. Let me go talk to him." And with a last reassuring smile, he walked over to the edge of the Halberd.

"Listen, Snake; do you think, when it comes time to Brawl, you could ease up on the kid some?"

Snake turned to Ike slowly, in a creeperish, I-know-something-about-your-mom-I-doubt-you-even-knew type of way, and said, "Telling me to ease off is like telling me to lose. So don't tell me to ease off, because I don't lose."

"I wasn't—okay." Ike didn't see the point in fighting. He walked over back to Toon Link. "It doesn't seem like Snake is going to take it easy. Wait," Ike said, getting an idea. "Do you want to do Team Battle? I can protect you then."

"Yeah, that'd be great!"

Ike smiled. "Okay, why don't you hurry to tell… the blue creature over there the change of plans—"

"His name's Lucario."

"What?"

"Lucario. Not Luke. Not Cario. Lucario." Toon Link started to get nervous again. "I know all the Pokémon here, but he scares me the most." Toon Link bent hovered Ike's ear and whispered, "His voice is _super _deep."

"Ooookay then." Ike doubted that. Creatures weren't supposed to have deep, unsettling voices, only humans, like his bud Ganondorf. "Go over to _Lucario_ and tell him that we are doing Team Battle. I'll talk to Snake."

"Okay!" Toon Link ran over to the pointy-eared creature. Kids had so much energy.

"Snake," Ike said, approaching the lone figure. "We would like to do Team Battle against you and Lucario."

Snake scoffed. "I hardly know the Pokémon. How do you expect us to win?"

"Enough with the winning business, Snake. This is practice, not a tournament. Think of it as practicing with a new character for the first time."

"Fine," Snake grumbled after a moment. He shifted eyes on the mercenary's set gaze once more. "But if I lose…. It's you and me, one-on-one, bub."

Ike backed away, eyes on Snake the whole time. "Arch," he called, and out of nowhere a silver metallic doorway appeared in front of him. Ike pressed the blue button that read 'Team Battle'. Near the front of the ship, the Results screen with each of their pictures became colour coded and grouped accordingly; He and Toon Link were the green team; Snake and Lucario were blue. Ike called out 'Arch' once more, and the futuristic portal disappeared. Toon Link trotted up to Ike again.

"Lucario's game," he said. Just then the bell sounded.

The four met up at the middle of the Halberd's upper deck. The wind pelted small Link's and Ike's faces as they shook the hands of the other team. Lucario was his normal blue self, while Snake was now dressed in blue camouflage. Ike knew that his clothes would now be green, like his partner's.

"Ready to lose, Swordfighter?" Snake rasped. His voice always sounded like he couldn't go higher than his normal, hushed and rugged voice.

Ike shrugged. "I fight for my friends, so I don't plan on losing today."

Snake growled or something and backed away, getting into stance with Lucario.

Toon Link was an excellent swordfighter, just like his human counterpart. Even though he only came up to Snake's knees, he slashed and parried furiously, very different from the small boy who trembled at the mere mention of Snake.

Lucario and Snake created a formidable team. The blue Pokémon could disappear and reappear at will, unleash blue energy blasts from his fingertips, and side-step his way out of any frontal attack. Snake, as Ike already knew, was a tough enemy as well. His futuristic weapons and explosives bewildered him, and his stealthy manner enabled him dodge and block just as well as his teammate.

But the offensive soon won out. When the bell rang at the end of the match, Ike looked up at the results board and beamed at Toon Link. The screen said that green team had one first, and blue team second.

"We did it, Ike!" Toony ran over to hug Ike's leg.

"This isn't over, bub," Snake grunted, and he followed after Lucario through the arch. But Ike barely heard him, because his stomach had just rumbled FOOD.


	5. Taunts

2:00 pm

Ike stepped into the Arch transporting to a sunny race track, cars zooming past. Looking up, he saw from the sign draped from empty stands that the place was called Mario Circuit. His training party for that session included Bowser, the King Koopa; Luigi, Mario's little brother who was trembling in Bowser's shadow; and the Dark Lord Ganondorf who smiled at him as he got closer.

"I have already set it for Team Battle."

Indeed he had. Ganon and Ike wore matching blue, while Luigi and Bowser both donned red, and Ike smiled at the circumstances. He took out his sword…

3:00 pm

There was Wario and Kirby, but what held the elusive Samus?

"Sorry I'm late, guys; my Power Suit tends to make me go slower if I don't give myself enough time."

Ike turned towards the Arch doorway. Samus wore a gigantic metal suit, making her surpass even Ike's height. Her helmet wasn't on yet, so she saw when Ike gaped at her entrance.

"You got a problem, big fella?"

Ike snapped out of his trance. "Uhh, no. It's just… your suit…."

"Yeah?"

"You didn't say it was made out of metal," Ike finally spluttered.

"Oh. Well, now you know." Samus gave a toss of her head, flicking aside her bangs.

"Wait!" Ike said as Samus began to raise the helmet to her head. "Uh, I mean—Do you want to do Team Battle? You and I, on the same team?"

For second her face gave way to something like surprise, and then for a second, like fear. "Um, no, I'm fine," she said. She seemed a little on edge, not looking at him, but then regained composure and smirked at him. "I'd much rather kick your ass."

Ike smiled slightly at her, but inside he was a little hurt. What did she have against team battle? Maybe it wasn't the mention of the alliance itself; perhaps it was just him.

Ike tried not to let the thought bother him. When he was fighting one-on-one with the blonde, she gave no sign that she remembered their previous conversation. But maybe she was just good at hiding her feelings.

The thing that lifted his spirits, however, was witnessing a little more of Kirby's powers during the battle.

"Come on, little creature," Wario taunted the pink thing. Ike, who had been fighting Samus before, was now staring down at the two Brawlers from the raised platform. "What's holding you back? Oh yeah, that's right; you pathetic ball of-"

For a moment Kirby looked a little sad, but then he sort of inflated and opened his mouth wider than Ike thought mouths could go, sucking Wario in.

Ike blinked, incredulous. Did Kirby just eat Wario?

Amazingly he saw Samus drop down from the platform and lash out with her whip-gun. Kirby was electrocuted, and in the process ended up spiting Wario out. Wario somersaulted backwards onto his butt. "Hey!" he shouted.

Ike looked back to Kirby. He was now wearing a biker's helmet like Wario, and the next moment Ike saw that the creature sat atop a yellow motorbike with his purple "W" insignia on it too. For a second Wario looked like he was going to have a tantrum, but instead he said in a disgruntled voice, "Alright. Not as pathetic as I thought."

Samus started laughing, and with a barely suppressed smile directed at the mercenary, he started laughing as well.

Brawl Mansion was an interesting place.

XXX

"And then, he tried to catch me by surprise, I just dodged out of the way and he ran face first into the wall!"

Zelda, Ike and Falco all laughed. Even Link smiled, amused.

It was night, a few hours after dinner. The five of them were chatting about the day around a round linoleum table. They were in the Cosmic Cove, a bar for older characters after hours. Some Wes Montgomery was playing on a stereo in the back, on a track named "Full House" filled with jazz guitar and a beat you could snap your fingers plenty to. A splatter of painted white, blue, purple and red stars covered the dark walls, and dim, small lights covered the ceiling. A platter with shrimp cocktails was spread out in front of them, which Falco was eating eagerly.

"So, Ike," Marth then said. "How was your afternoon training?"

"My afternoon went well, more or less." He shrugged. "I did Team Battle Ganondorf—"

"Wait, you're in league with _Ganondorf?_" Zelda said, incredulous. Link almost choked on his shrimp cocktail. Luckily Fox was there to hit him on the back so he could cough the shrimp back up. When he recovered, he turned to glare at Ike.

"Yeah…" Ike couldn't see the problem yet.

"Don't you know? Ganondorf is from me & Link's game. He's a _villain_."

"I know he's a bad guy. I just like sparring with him." He narrowed his eyes at Zelda. "Is this a problem?"

Zelda took the challenge. "Yes, it is, Ike. You don't know what he did to Link and I in the past. He—he killed my father! And kidnapped me more than five times! And don't get me started on what he did to Link—"

"And so what? That was in the past. He can't be forgiven?"

"No, he can't," Zelda said definitely. "He's bad—"

"And was lost in time the same way we were." Ike eyed her. "He hasn't done anything to us at present to harm us. And why would he? He knows as well as anyone else does: 'Anyone who settles disagreements with their fists, feet, knees, heads, swords, or any other types of weapon otherwise will be kicked out into the Real World'. And that's a scary reality no one wants to face. Do you think Ganondorf will break that sole rule?"

"No," Zelda said begrudgingly. "But you must understand what he did to us, Ike." Ike stopped to listen to the voice of reason for once, crossing his arms. "He captured me multiple times, and terrorized my home kingdom. He captured Link and made that abomination out of Link, Dark Link. He killed our parents, Ike."

The whole table was silent after the sorceress's outburst. Shame ate at Ike into speaking, something that didn't occur often. "I-I'm sorry, Zelda," he said, looking away from the eyes of the member of the table around him. "I didn't realize what pain he had caused you." He stopped, looking at the princess's measuring eyes steadily. "And though I can't say that he won't stop causing evil and terror around your home world, I can say that he won't harm you at this Mansion as long you stay here."

Zelda looked away, and Link shifted to her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. Ike left it at that. Royalty or not, this princess from another world couldn't tell him who (or what) he could fight with.

He cleared his throat for their attention once more, his mind going back to the point that he was driving at. "I also fought with Samus and Wario—"

"Wait, who's Samus?" Marth said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"She's… you know," Ike said, giving him a look.

Falco looked back and forth at the two of them, ultimately landing on Ike. "Oh, I got ya. Ike's got a little crush on Miss Aran."

"And so I finished 1st in both of those battles," Ike said loudly, trying to block out Falco's last comment. Marth chuckled. "But there was this one battle right after lunch that I couldn't stand being in for the life of me."

"Who was in it?" Marth asked.

"Peach—" At this, Zelda, who seemed to be listening now, grimaced, "Sonic—" now Falco made a look, "and Pit."

"Pit? What kind of name is that?" Marth said.

"A dumb one, that's for sure." Ike took another sip of his drink. "Anyway, these three were the most annoying people to train with. Peach kept on whacking me with strange objects she pulled out of her dress, along with a small man with what looked like a mushroom for a hat—"

"That's a Toad," Zelda put in.

"She had a Toad man in her dress?"Marth said, horrified.

"Yes. And Sonic was just plain annoying, from his taunts—"

"'You're too slow! You're too slow!'" Falco mimicked. The whole table laughed. Even Link smiled.

"- to his 'turbo charges' where he turns into a ball and runs you over, and creating damage by getting in your face and punching you over and over—"

"Sorry I'm late guys; had some business to take care of," Fox said, walking in.

"Don't worry about it. We were just talking about Sonic," Falco said.

"Man, I hate that guy!" said Fox, slamming his fist into the table. Everyone nodded in solemn agreement. "I mean, what _is _he, anyway?"

"A hedgehog," Zelda said wisely. "A blue hedgehog."

Fox blinked. No one knew what to say to that.

"But continuing with what I was saying," Ike said after the long silence, "neither of them was as infuriating as that Demon with Wings, Pit."

"Pit," Fox spat with disgust.

"I mean, who does he think he is? Some angel from Angel Land? And how old is he, anyway?"

"Fifiteen," Zelda put in. Ike glared at her, and she shrugged impassively.

"I just don't think some _teenager _ has a right to be running around with dual knives and a bow and arrow," Ike murmured.

"He has those?" Marth said, eyes wide.

"Yeah. And with those wings he's almost impossible to beat."

"Stupid kid," Fox murmured. "Too young for weapons like that."

"Didja beat 'im?" Falco asked Ike.

"Of course," Ike said, folding his arms across his chest. "Even with weapons like that, he was no match for my strength."

"That's right!" Falco said. Marth and Fox pat him on the back in congratulations.

"Now wait a minute, Ike." The five looked over to Zelda. "You complain about him being young. But there are other kids in Brawl too."

"Yeah, but this kid is so full of himself. He thinks just because he's a good shot, he's going to win over all the players," Ike said.

"You should see him, Zelda; he's always taunting you, saying 'The fight is on!' and 'You're not ready yet!'; showing off his wings like he's a Godsend," Fox said bitterly.

"Will you all listen to yourselves? Creating hatred against this kid you don't even know!" Zelda exclaimed.

"She just doesn't get it," Fox murmured to Falco.

"_Women," _Falco agreed quietly, but unfortunately it was loud enough for her to hear.

"Ugh! You men are so cruel!" And she stalked off, leaving Link staring after her. Link shrugged apologetically to the crew and waved goodbye, following after the princess.

"Harsh," Falco said, dipping a shrimp in his cocktail.

"Brutal," Fox agreed.

Ike disregarded her, taking another sip of his drink.

XXX


	6. Over His Hot Pocket

_A/N- This was _after _I realized Captain Falcon was 40 years old :/. I really need to learn the ages of these characters before I write about them._

Fox was always in everybody's business.

Every time people changed their love interests, got into fight, or had any other secret and it passed through his ears, he wouldn't rest until he knew every detail, every side and every juicy bit of the story. Ike suspected he'd spent one too many tea-times with Peach.

He sighed, physically and mentally spent. Physically, because that day was his day to watch over the creatures at a shaded, outside play area called the West Area. Located naturally on the west side of the mansion, the place was big enough to be a park with its sprawling lawns, wide oak trees, and elms that towered and bushes growing at its base.

He was mentally spent because of all the relationship questions Fox was asking him.

"Has she let you know that she likes you in any way?" was Fox's eight hundredth question upon entering the West Area.

"I think so." He threw a neon-green Frisbee to the awaiting Kirby from the play bin. Ike concentrated on the quick snippets of his time with Samus, and, most of all, their time on Structured Practice four days ago. "She keeps on calling me 'big fella' every time we meet. But there was this one time during Structured Practice when I asked if she wanted to do Team Battle with me, but she declined."

"Her calling giving you nicknames? That's a good sign." Fox and Ike walked away from the shed. The sun had another quarter of the sky to go until nighttime. Scattered across it were cirrus clouds, blowing swiftly past on a cool breeze, passing through Ike's hair down below. "But why didn't she want to do Team Battle with you?"

"I don't know."

"I wouldn't worry about, man!" Fox said, noticing the mopey mercenary string at the ground. "From what you've told me, it seems you two are really diggin' each other."

Ike looked to him. "Digging each other...?"

"It means she might really like you," Fox said, rolling his eyes. "Now, have you made any move on her yet—meaning, have you let her know you're interested?"

"I guess."

"You guess?!" Have you done anything major since the Structured Practice?"

Ike struggled to contain himself, knowing that Fox was only being annoyingly personal because of his own severed relationship with Krystal. But Ike's lid on his temper was about to pop off with this guy. He stared straight ahead, watching Kirby pass the Frisbee to Diddy Kong. "We've talked, Fox—"

"You've talked?" Fox was close to hysterics. "Man, when are you going to ask her out?"

The lid went flying. He was sick and tired of not knowing the colloquial words that were used by so many of the Brawlers. It made him seem stupid, and made him angry. "What does that even mean?"

Pikachu, who was playing in the sandbox nearby, started to cry. Ash, the Head Creature Caretaker, went to him with a glare at Ike.

"Okay, okay Ike, calm down," said Fox quietly, as if he hadn't been loud a few moments before. "It' s just when two people do occasionally when they are dating—"

"And what the hell is—" Pikachu started crying again, even harder this time; and Ike received another glare from Ash. "I mean," he began again, softer this time, "what exactly is dating, Fox?"

"It's a lot like your 'courting' I guess," Fox explained, hardly paying attention to Ike's simmering anger. "You ask them out on a date, you're letting them know you're interested."

"Like courting?" Ike wasn't sure about getting married yet. "I'm not rushing things."

"Not dating for marriage, just for fun. Like a Russian Roulette, only with women."

Ike closed his eyes and finally calmed down. "Look. I'm not going to try your modern relationship methods. I am simply going to simply take it slow, in my own way."

"Four o'clock!" Red called out to them, waving his hand to Ike, Wolf and Ash. "Time to head inside!"

Kirby turned to the mansion in joy, knowing going inside meant food. Just then, Diddy hit distracted Kirby on the head with the neon toy, and the pink creature looked mad enough to eat the monkey. "Uh-oh," Fox said, noticing the situation. He turned to Ike. "Okay, then. I get it. Do what you want. But just a warning… Samus may not like slow." Fox then trotted off to Kirby and Diddy, who were wrestling on the ground.

But as Ike was walking back to the mansion, with Kirby and Ivysaur and Diddy at his feet, he wondered if Fox's words her true. Would Samus appreciate _slow_? He felt, when he was with her, something that he never felt before; exhilarated yet a little afraid at the same time, to start this new relationship with someone he truly liked.

So then, maybe it was time to let her know how much he liked her.

XXX

Samus often stretched after she woke up in the mornings, and before she went to bed as well. It helped her keep up her flexibility, and prevented her from getting cramps. Eyes closed in meditation, she thought of the previous day's Structured Practice.

She had much to gain from it. From the human players to the animated ones they all aided her immensely in becoming a better fighter. Yet, in all her years of combat and physical training did she have fun doing so. And she had to admit that she had enjoyed Training those matches with Ike.

Samus opened her eyes and exhaled sharply, thinking about her previous conversation with Captain Falcon. He was a good friend, and she knew he liked her in his own childish way. But he was very playful, his brightly coloured suit attracting the kids' attention so he was always occupied with them. And in the end, he had grown to be a child himself; absent minded, and gentle; joking and never serious.

Not that there was anything wrong with that. But he, Samus realized, just wasn't her type.

But Ike…. Ike was different. He was calm and quiet, yet able to unleash his fury at anyone who called for it, much like the calm before the storm. He possessed a kind of intense sense of duty to his training, but it went deep, to the core of his being was his dedication. Her thoughts dwelled on their first conversation, after the Training Session, where he had been rather shy towards her instead of flat and impassive, and he surprised her even more with the way he opened up to those kids so easily. The action had revealed an almost tender side to him, one she admired and teased him about later on….

Wait, had she been flirting with him?

The corner of Samus' lip twitched upward. _Well, that tears it, _she said to herself. _I really do like Ike._

_XXX_

"Cursed device! Heat up my Hot Pocket!"

Samus turned around. Ike was making quite a commotion in the lunchroom kitchen. He was standing in front one of the white microwaves, face lit up in rage.

"How do I work this thing?!" Ike began banging on the top of the poor machine. Several people, including Luigi and Olimar, shuffled out of the kitchen in alarm.

"Ike, let me help you with that." Samus walked across the kitchen with her own bowl of cereal. "What's the problem?" Ike punched the microwave door open with his forefinger, took out the Hot Pocket and held it out to her, livid.

"The instructions tell me to microwave it for 2 ½ to 3 minutes, see? So I set it in there and watched the clock for 3 minutes. I take it out, and it's still cold!"

"Ike," Samus said, trying not to laugh, "did you try _starting _the microwave?"

"Huh?" Ike looked utterly confused.

"It's probably better if I showed you." She took the Hot Pocket from his hand, set back in the microwave and closed its door. "You see?" Samus pointed to the circular green buttons. "These activate its… heating powers. You press the 'Power' button first—" she pressed the Power button- "then you punch in how much time you want to heat up the food. Here," Samus pushed in 2,3,0. "After you do that you press 'Start'. Samus punched the Start button, and the microwave lit up, making a low humming sound.

Ike stared at the animated device until it BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!-ed, and Samus took it out for him and lay it on the counter. From the cabinet above she took out a small paper plate, which she set the steaming egg-and-sausage thing on.

Ike took the plate in blank amazement. "It works. You made it work."

Samus smiled. "Nah, everyone can use a microwave!"

Ike took a bite. "It's warm!" he exclaimed, half-eaten pocket still in his mouth.

"Yeah," Samus said, slightly disgusted. "You've never tried using a microwave before?"

Ike swallowed and shook his head. "Never. In my… homeland we did not have such machines as these." He shot the thing a look, as if it did something unforgiveable to him.

"Wow, life must have been pretty slow."

Ike shrugged. "It was where I grew up. I see now that my time is extremely undeveloped, compared to this one, we are in at present. For example: look how fast preparing the food is now!" He held out the last of his Hot Pocket. "And the food is satisfying. Something as fulfilling as this would take several hours to prepare where I am from, but here it took mere minutes."

"Yeah." Samus was blown away by how much he had said in one setting, and cast around for an intelligent answer. Ike took another bite of his Hot Pocket. "Things were probably a lot more simple where you're from, though. I'm from the future, you see."

"Would not things be even simpler as the time progressed? In your time period, the food preparing is easier, the transport faster, and the communications more advanced than anything we could find where I am from."

"Yes, but… "Samus cast around for an appropriate reply for him. She would've never guessed that one day in her life she would have to explain what it was like living in her time to someone from an entirely different world. "You see, human and inter-race relationships have changed. It's no longer just, 'arranged marriages' and 'monarchial governments', where the king and queen make the rules and everyone is happy with everything that is going on. People live complicated lives, where communication is strained _because _ of the advance of technology. Relationships become twisted things, and family and friends leave you behind or betray you to a stranger they just met…." She trailed off.

Ike gave her a meaningful look. "My apologies, but it seems like our worlds aren't as different as you are led to believe." Ike finished off his Hot Pocket and smacked his fingers. Still deep in thought, Samus had almost forgotten to ask what exactly he meant until he said, "Is this your meal? It seems to be… soggy."

"Oh!" She took the bowl of cereal from the counter. Its contents were very soggy indeed; fat squares of Cinnamon Toast Crunch logged with milk and its flavor probably all lost. "Great," she grumbled, walking over to the kitchen sink's garbage disposal. "You owe me lunch, big fella," she said, not really meaning it.

"It would be my pleasure," Ike said. Samus looked at him in surprise. His eyes looked completely sincere. "I am sorry."

"It's okay," she murmured, smiling slightly.

"I meant to ask," Ike began, "before you go; why did you not want to do Team Battle with me? Last week?"

Samus looked to him. His back rested on the ridge of the counter and his hands gripped the edge. His eyes looked to the tiled floor, not meeting hers, as if it was hard for him to admit to her his emotions.

He cared for her, or at least cared what she thought of him.

"I… I don't do partnerships," she said. There was something about his sincerity that made her never want to lie to him. "I'm usually alone, back home. I'm a bounty hunter, and whenever I include people in missions, they usually get hurt. So, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" he asked, a smirk teasing his lips.

"Sorry for leading you on. For not explaining why I didn't want to do Team Battle with you."

There was silence for a while. Then at last he spoke. "I am not sure what it means to be 'led on'—"at this he gave a quick glance to Samus, and she smiled—"but I am not one who gets offended easily. So I don't see why you made the situation so… dense."

Samus flushed. "I'm not sure why either."

Ike snuck her a glance. "I think you do. You have something else to tell me?"

Emotions, thoughts and feelings started building up in her mind—a lot like how an adolescent girl would react when asked a ridiculously simple question. "I just—I'm not who you think you think I am!" Who was he to make Samus Aran so flustered? Why was she being so emotional over him—over this guy she hardly knew? Yet she babbled on. "I've killed for money. Killed actual people, and so if that makes you see me differently then that's fine. We don't have to—"

"I know what the occupation 'bounty hunter' implies," interrupted Ike, amused. "And don't you think, just maybe, that perhaps from being a _mercenary, _I don't do the same thing?"

Samus, embarrassed of herself, stayed silent.

"I hope you understand," he continued, stepping a little closer towards her, "that's not what I see when I look at you. I see someone, so strong, and beautiful, and independent that I couldn't help but notice… you." He placed a surprisingly tender hand on her cheek, and his eyes….

When was the last time she kissed someone else? Samus couldn't recall, but his eyes were so unfathomably deep and dark that she found herself captivated. Ike brought his lips to hers…

"Ooop!" was a noise from the kitchen doorway. Samus pulled away to see Olimar frozen. "I was just seeing—if the big guy was gone…."

"Just leaving," Ike said, blush coloring his pale face. Before exiting he turned to the bounty hunter. "I will see you at lunch." Then he ducked out past Olimar.

Samus turned to the miniature spaceman. "You didn't see anything. Got it?"

Olimar nodded his head briskly.

Walking out quickly, Samus smiled to herself. _Lunch Indeed, _she thought.

_A/N- Reveiws please. This is one of my favorite chapters, and I'd like some feeback, if you please. _


	7. Nightmares in the Dark

"Samus likes Ike, Samus likes Ike," Captain Falcon sing-songed.

"Shut up!" Samus punched him in the shoulder.

It was after their two-hour long practice. Kirby and Snake had tagged along, even though the latter creeped her out. She and Falcon strolled down the mansion's corridors to the kitchen, looking for a bite to eat.

"I'm right though, aren't I?"

Samus tried to ignore him. The sad thing was, she told him everything about her life; the guy's patience was par to a tee. She talked about things with him that she would never share with anyone else, girly topics and otherwise. It just felt so much better talking about those things to a guy rather than a girl to her; if she shared any of these things with Zelda or Peach, it would've felt like she was revealing a weakness. And she didn't want that. So, there he was, Falcon, an open ear to any secret, but trustworthy enough to keep them. And if he didn't, she could just beat him up later.

That guy was too annoying for his own good, though. "Falcon, if you don't shut up, I'll—"

"You'll what?" They had come to a crossroads, and none other than Ike had met them, coming from the stairs. The corner of his mouth quirked up, and Samus couldn't believe how mind-blowingly fine he looked. His hair was wet and messy, water droplets will dripping onto the towel that hung across his wide shoulders. He was not wearing his usual get-up like she was; for a shirt he wore a beige coloured thermal that stretched across his toned chest and arms, a loose leather belt and some dark blue pants. She couldn't believe that she had just kissed him that morning, thin pale face and all, and hardly knew him.

Samus came back to her senses. "I'll do very bad things to you while you sleep," she threatened lamely. She didn't want to let Ike think she was mean to the guy.

"Ooooh, I'm scared," Falcon said, putting his hands up and wiggling his fingers.

"You are a feisty one, Samus," Ike said as they continued down the hallway. She smiled.

"Yeah, she is," Falcon said unhelpfully. "And rude and mean and sarcastic—"

Samus promptly jabbed him in the side with her elbow.

"—ow! But she's also kind and generous!"

"I bet she is." Ike smirked down at her, and Samus felt some heat rise to her face. Damn Falcon.

"Actually, you know what? I'm going to go slip off and see if Lucario is doing okay with the kids. Make sure he hasn't hung then from the ceiling or drowned them in the fish tank yet." And with a wink at Samus, he slipped down an adjoining corridor.

"Um," Samus said cleverly.

Ike seemed a little nervous too. "I apologize if my last comment made you uncomfortable."

"No, no, it's fine!" Samus replied, but in her head she thought, 'No, no! It's fine! You make me uncomfortable, but in a good way, so don't worry about it!' She said out loud, "Falcon just likes being a pain in the ass, so you really just have to deal with him."

"You 'deal' with him?"

"Mostly. He knows me, though. He doesn't get 'offended with my quick remark and snarky jokes."

"So what he said about you being 'mean' and 'sarcastic' was true."

"No. I mean… maybe. I don't try to be, though. It's just who I am, I think."

"Well," Ike said, smiling in that way that gave her butterflies, "I guess we'll just have to find out."

XxX

It was night.

"Gaaaah! This stupid thing won't work!"

Wolf cocked an eyebrow at his arch nemesis Fox. "This may be the first time I've seen you angry at anything but me."

Fox shot him a look. "How 'bout _you _try it?"

But of course, Wolf held back. "I'm no technician."

"Then why are you here?"

"Here, I'll see it," Falco said, stepping in with a wrench. Fox backed off to let him take a look, opposite of Wolf.

Falco bent towards the purple and black hole of swirling smoke. As hard as they tried, they just couldn't figure out a way to reverse its operation. If only it would stop spewing out arbitrary people from different worlds into this one, and let them _enter _it and go back to where they came.

In time, the more futuristic players had created a metallic doorway around the swirling expanse, improving upon it and adding small parts that may help them find a way back. But after a month of tinkering, banging, and cursing, more and more people would roll out, and still none could go back in.

Falco sighed. "I've run out of ideas."

Fox sat on a metal stool near the doorway. "How will we get back home?"

"Out of luck, it seems?"

The three of them turned around. The voice emanated from the shadows of the basement. "It's not going to work. We are never going to make it back home."

"Who are you?" Fox yelled. "Show yourself so we can see you!"

A figure clad in black made his way out of the shadows, his red eyes gleaming in the florescent light of the workspace. A sly smile teased the edge of his lips. "It's me. Who else?"

"Dark Link," Falco said. "Why are you here?"

"You're right in being confused; I haven't the slightest understanding in what you're trying to do here. I just know you won't succeed. We'll be stuck in this world forever, and none of you suckers will know how to cope."

"We will find a way," Fox said defiantly.

"You can keep thinking that," Dark Link said. "But someone else is rising, and he's going to need to as many people as possible to establish order during his reign." Fox and Falco looked at each other in confusion, and Dark Link rolled his eyes in exasperation. He walked over to Wolf. "You know who I'm talking about. You know we must band together once the Real World can't be ignored. What do you say?"

"No," Wolf growled. "We will find a way to get back. In time."

Dark Link's coy smile darkened and fell. "Fine. But you'll be back. When The One Who Rises rages war and everything is crumbling around you, you'll wish you had never spoken the opportunity." Then he backed into the shadows once more, and was gone.

"What was that all about?" Falco asked, but Wolf didn't answer.

XxX

"Aaaaaah! Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiink!"

Link's eyes popped open. Zelda's scream made him scramble out of bed and trot hurriedly to the next room, much to Samus' surprise.

"When she screamed you name, I didn't expect you to actually show up," she said to Link's shadowy outline in the doorway.

Link held up an extra room key.

"Oh. Right then. I'll just leave you two alone." She got up from her bed nearest to the door and walked to the kitchenette.

Link went to the clock. 2:14 AM. It was something to be expected now at least three times a week.

"Link…." Zelda moaned, and Link saw her how she held herself in the queen sized bed, her hair up in pins but loose strands hanging in her face. Coupled with the tears in her tired eyes, she looked worn and disheveled. "I can't stop thinking about him. Why can't I stop? It's the same, every single night."

_Maybe it's because you're in love with him, _Link said telepathically as he crawled on top of the covers with her.

Zelda almost chuckled. "Don't be ridiculous. Why would I be screaming if I liked him?" She snuggled closer into Link's chest.

_Trust me, if there's anything I could do to put the demon out of your head, I would do it._

"I know." Zelda tried to slow her heartbeat to match the hero next to her.

Samus walked in the room and blinked at her roommate. "At first I thought you were talking to yourself, Zelda; but then I realized that you must be doing that telepathic thingie you two do again." In her hands she held two mugs of steaming hot cocoa. She held one out for Zelda. "Want some?"

Zelda sat up, Link beside her. "With the mini-marshmallows?"

Samus rolled her eyes. "_Yes,_ Your Highness. Geez, you'd think that you were having these nightmares on purpose so you'd have an excuse for someone to serve you."

Zelda smiled benignly and took her cup. Samus crossed the room to sit on her bed.

The nightmares. No matter what Zelda had tried to do with her white magic, nothing had worked to dispel the reoccurring images of Ghirahim that kept her awake at night. They had invaded like a plague, her memories of his horrific and ridiculous ritual dance, and then morphed themselves into nightmares even Link couldn't ward away. It was a mystery, these dreams, that had cropped up just shortly after Link and Zelda had arrived at the mansion.

Link sighed. _We'll figure this out._

Zelda sipped her cocoa silently. Their telepathic connection was about the only thing that kept Link sane after Ganondorf took his voice. And so now he could only speak with the people of the Triforce—he, Zelda, and Ganondorf. And since he and Ganondorf weren't exactly buddies, he only ever really spoke to Zelda.

At first when the dreams started, Zelda would always call for him, and Link would have to knock on the room Zelda and Samus shared to be let in. Now Link had his own room key, but the couple weren't allowed to share rooms still. The rules of the mansion were still rules.

"I'm a little scared to ask, but…" Link turned to Zelda. Her half-finished cocoa was on the nightstand, and her bare arms crossed against her chest shone blue-white in the moonlight. Her blue eyes, though still red, caught his pleadingly. "Will you stay a little longer tonight?"

_Of course, _Link said, and he scooted over as she made herself comfortable in the bed. Carefully he lay his head on the pillow next to her's, and wrapped his arms around her slim waist.

"Hey, you better not be getting too comfy over there," Samus called.

Zelda only smiled and turned off the light.


	8. Battlefield

During breakfast the next morning, Ike saw worry creasing the eyebrows of his friend's face. In between bites of homefries, sausage and egg, he noticed, too, the dark circles around his eyes. "Is everything… okay, Ganondorf?"

The warlock grunted. "Less and less sleep each night I stay here."

Ike remembered hearing something like that happening to Zelda. "Like nightmares?"

"No." Ganondorf took a sip of his cup of Joe. "More like memories. Like I've forgotten something. I'm feeling a…. disturbance in my home world."

"A disturbance like what?"

"Hey guys!" Just then, Marth slid into a plastic blue chair at their table. The wide smile on his face was obviously fake. "What's up?"

Ganondorf took another sip of his coffee. Ike could never understand why Marth choose to use the 'lingo' that Fox and Falco used. Expressions like 'What's up?' and 'That's cool' made no sense to him whatsoever, no matter how many times they tried explaining it to him.

So naturally Ike looked up. "The ceiling. The lights…"

"No, Ike, I mean… never mind." Marth just covered his face with his hand and shook his head.

"What is the blue prince doing at our table?" Ganon said.

"Oh, you know." Marth shrugged. "Here and there, this and that." Then like a squirrel he perked up at the contents of Ganon's mug. "Hey, is that coffee?"

"Yes."

"You drink it black?"

"Yes." Once again, the dark lord fixed him with a threating stare, as if daring him to continue.

"Alright then," Marth said weakly.

"How is you and your lady friend, Ike?" Ganon asked, eyes on him now.

"Yeah, how _are_ you two?" Marth said. Ike couldn't tell if there was any sarcasm in his voice or not, but he cast the thought out of his head and looked for an appropriate answer.

"Fine, I suppose." Before either of them could inquire further, he asked, "Hey Ganon! We should train today, to get you mind off things."

Ganon shrugged, clearly seeing his excuse to change the subject. "Okay. How about now?"

"Perfect." He rose from his seat at the table and turned to Marth. "Care to join?"

"_No,_ thank you. I've trained too hard these past few days. I need a break."

"You train less than all of us put together."

Marth shrugged, picking at his oatmeal with his spoon. "You two go on."

Ike got up from the table with his tray, Ganon along with him. "I'll catch you later then." One expression he understood.

XXX

He heard them before he even got to him.

"… and I was going so fast! Oh man, the times where I caught him by surprise! But you should've seen his face, Link…" Pit trailed off at the sight of Ganondorf, and—oh, lookie there!—Ike came up the stairs. Pit looked up at the two in fear.

"Pit," said Ike, disgust embedded in the single syllable.

Pit shrank visibly.

"This is the angel boy you spoke of, Ike?" Ganon asked. "He doesn't seem like much of a talker now."

Ike looked at the digital clock on the Holodeck controls. It read 10:17 AM. Link and Pit must have been waiting there for a long time already, he was sure, so why would he pass on the chance to kick Pit's ass butt for all his talk? He'll show him.

The tension in the air was tangible as Link and Ganondorf locked into an intense stare down. The thirst for gameplay alone led Ike's fingers to the Holodeck's control panel, pressing the appropriate buttons as if he had been doing this all his life.

Ike turned around. Ganon and Link faced him, their faces set and serious, except for Pit, who was frozen in fear—perhaps in shock, or else he would've known to high-tail out of there if he had the sense.

"The Super Smash Brothers Battlefield," Ike said. He smirked, lowering his eyes directly at Pit, all thoughts of good intention gone from his head. "Prepare yourself."

XXX

Where as the battle between Ganondorf and Link was close and personal in the beginning, Ike brawl with Pit was more of a cat-and-mouse game. As soon as the doors opened to the Battlefield, the poor Angel ran as fast as possible away from the mercenary. When he reached he reached the barrier at the end of the Holodeck, he broke out his wings to fly as high as possible to escape the carnal rage that was Ike.

"You can't fly forever, Angel boy!" Ike yelled, and indeed the boy couldn't. Flapping his wings for a long period of time made him lose height.

Ike didn't even let him reach the ground. In one immense movement, Ike threw his sword high up in the air and jumped, and caught it to send it crashing down on Pit, still in the air.

On the ground now, Pit looked at the floating TV screens where their results would show at the end of the match. Under Pit's name, it read '26%'.

Pit groaned.

A looming shadow above him, Ike came down for an overhead strike, but Pit, still on the ground, unleashed hi dual knives and blocked the blow. Without hesitation he whipped into a low crouch, and brought his other knife across his opponents legs, making him stumble.

Pit looked to the screen. Ike's damage read '5%'.

Ike grinned. "That's better, Angel Boy."

Though his knives usually made him be on the offensive, Ike's constant frontal strikes caused him to do just the opposite. Pit's advantage to this was his attacker himself; Ike was dead slow. Using his quickness and wings, he escaped again, setting on a higher platform. On the opposite side of the Battlefield, Ganon and Link were at each other, hard and close.

"Aether!"

Once again, Ike threw his sword up in the air and shot upwards into the sky, blocking the computerized sun—

-only to be shot down by one of Pit's arrows.

Ike cursed. He had forgotten about those.

Pit shot another one, but the time Ike blocked and made to the higher platform unscathed. With his long broadsword he struck Pit on the side, elevating his damage to '102%'.

"Hi-ya-ya-ya!" The boy twirled his bow rapidly at his opponent in a last ditch effort. Compared to his, Ike's damage was only 76%... now 80%... reaching 82%...

Ike side stepped, went for a low swipe at Pit's legs, and the dodged backwards again. Pit stumbled the fell, and Ike rush at his with speed the angel didn't even know he possessed. With one powerful blow of his sword, Pit was sent spiraling off the platform.

The bell rang shrilly.

Link's boomerang flew harmlessly off past Ike, and the purple fumes from Ganon's hand flickered and died.

Ike jumped off the higher platform, stepping slowly to the fallen angel, sweat sheening on both of their faces, chests heaving and hearts pumping from the effort. Pit looked at the looming figure in front of him, despondent and exhausted. Ike only stared back at him, dark eyes unreadable.

"That'll be the last time you boast about your victory over me, hmm?" Ike said.

Pit nodded rapidly, brown hair and wreathed headband shaking with his head.

"Good," Ike said, and he called the arch into existence. He stepped through the open sliding door that appeared between the two of them back into the mansion.

XXX


End file.
